10+ Best Caption Contest Examples and a Guide to Create Your Own
Today, engagement is the ultimate currency.
One reason for that is that you can’t really get your audience to stop scrolling and start interacting unless you do something truly special.
One of those special things you can do is run a Caption Contest.
This is also one of the OG online ways to humanize your brand and spark creativity and responsiveness from your followers. And it still works.
In this guide, we’ll explore what makes these contests work, why you should run one, and a few examples to inspire your next campaign.
What is a Caption Contest?
A caption contest is a marketing competition where a brand shares an image that’s usually funny or mysterious, and invites its audience to write a creative description or "caption" for it.
Unlike simple "Like-to-Win" giveaways, caption contests require a small amount of creative effort, which leads to higher-quality engagement.
Winners are typically chosen based on humor, creativity, or by popular vote from other followers.
Why You Should Run a Caption Contest
Caption contests are both fun and powerful.
According to our own experience running giveaways, as well as data from other experts, these are some of the reasons why:
- Low Barrier to Entry: While it requires creativity, it only takes a few seconds to write a short sentence, making it accessible to almost everyone.
- Humanizes Your Brand: Sharing a funny or behind-the-scenes photo makes your brand feel approachable and relatable.
- It boosts Algorithm Reach: Social media algorithms prioritize posts with high comment counts. Because people often reply to funny captions, contests can go viral quickly.
- Generates User-Generated Content (UGC): You can repurpose the best captions (with permission) for future social posts or marketing materials.
- Builds Community: When followers read each other's funny entries, it fosters a shared sense of humor around your brand.
These are just some of the top of our heads.
If you start tunning your own, you’ll probably discover another benefit or two.
10 Caption Contest Examples To Inspire You
1. The New Yorker: The Gold Standard
The most famous example is the weekly cartoon contest by The New Yorker.
They provide a black-and-white illustration without a caption, pick three finalists, and let the public vote for the winner.
This creates a two-step engagement loop: first for the writers, then for the voters.
And it is so popular that even famous actor participate:
2. The "Holiday Spirit" Contest
Brands often use seasonal images like a dog wearing reindeer antlers for Christmas or a pumpkin carving fail for Halloween.
These work because they tap into the current mood and "holiday hype" of your audience.
Here’s one example that any brand can share for some awareness:
3. Local Business Awareness
If you’re a local business, the best way to market your brand is to the local community.
And locally-relevant caption contests are a great way to engage them.
The San Mateo County Library used a caption contest to promote their summer learning challenge.
By using a local-interest image, they engaged their specific community and incentivized participation with a gift card prize.
4. Product Launch Teasers
Before launching a new product, post a zoomed-in or "blurry" photo of it.
Ask followers to caption it. The easy route is to just for them to guess what it is, which builds mystery and ensures people are paying attention when the reveal happens.
But you can also provide a more difficult task to engage the real fans or the most curious or creative ones among the audience.
For example, “When would you use this product?” or “What is this product thinking about” can be good caption options.
5. The "Office Pet" Special
People love animals.
Posting a photo of the "Chief Happiness Officer" (the office dog) in a funny situation is a guaranteed way to get hundreds of comments.
It’s lighthearted and shows the faces behind the company.
6. Fill-in-the-Blank Style
Instead of a blank slate, provide half a sentence:
"When you realize it's finally Friday, you feel like [Fill in the blank]..." accompanied by a goofy reaction photo.
This is even easier to enter than a traditional caption contest.
7. Behind-the-Scenes "Fails"
Show a photo of your team setting up for an event or a blooper from a video shoot.
Asking for captions on a "fail" makes your brand look humble and relatable.
8. Movie and Pop Culture Ties
If you’re a brand that caters to a specific niche (like gaming or movies), use a screenshot from a popular trailer and ask for an "incorrect" caption.
This taps into existing fanbases and "meme culture."
9. Follower Milestone Celebration
When you hit 10k or 50k followers, run a caption contest as a "Thank You."
Using a celebratory image makes the contest feel like a party for your community rather than a sales pitch.
10. The "Mistranslated" Movie Poster
Take a famous movie poster or a scene from a well-known film and ask users to provide a "completely wrong" caption.
This taps into meme culture and allows users to be snarky or surreal.
It works exceptionally well for brands in the entertainment, gaming, or media sectors because it leverages existing fandoms.
11. The "Object POV" (Point of View)
Post a photo of an inanimate object—like a lone shoe on a sidewalk, a discarded pizza box, or even your own product sitting on a shelf.
Ask your followers to write the caption from the perspective of the object.
This forces a high level of creativity and often results in hilarious, personified "inner monologues" that humanize your products.
12. The "Abstract Art" Challenge
Use an AI-generated image or a close-up macro shot of something unrecognizable (like the texture of an orange peel or a circuit board).
Ask users to caption what they think it is.
This is a great way to bridge the gap between technology and community, and it usually generates a high volume of guesses that drive up your comment count.
13. The "New Year, Same Me" (Relatability Contest)
Post a photo of someone looking exhausted or overwhelmed in a relatable setting (like sitting in front of a mountain of laundry or staring at a complex spreadsheet).
Ask for a caption that describes this mood. For example, Monday morning mood.
Relatability is a massive driver for shares; when people see a caption that describes their own life, they are much more likely to share the post to their own Stories.
14. The Cash Prize Incentive
While small prizes like gift cards work, offering a larger cash prize for the "funniest caption" can attract professional-level creativity and significantly higher entry volumes.
The issue with Cash Prize is that it can be a bit iffy and don’t pass regulations with social media. That’s where using tools like Blitz Rocket can help, which we’ll explain later in the article.
How to Run a Successful Caption Contest
Running a contest requires more than just a funny photo.
To ensure you get the best ROI, follow these universal steps:
Step 1: Define Your Goals
Do you want more Instagram followers? More email subscribers? Or just higher engagement on a specific post?
Your goal will dictate where you host the contest and how you promote it.
Step 2: Choose a "Sticky" Image
The image is the most important part. It should be:
- Relatable: Something your target audience understands.
- High Quality: Avoid blurry or pixelated shots.
- Open-ended: It needs to leave room for interpretation. If the photo explains itself, there's no room for a caption.
Step 3: Set Clear Rules and Prizes
Make sure your audience knows exactly how to enter.
- The Rules: Do they need to tag a friend? Use a specific hashtag? Follow your account?
- The Prize: Make sure the prize matches the effort. A $10 gift card is fine for a quick comment; a free product bundle might be better if you want people to put real effort into their jokes and if you’re expecting a lot of participants so you up the stake.
Step 4: Pick a Deadline
Caption contests thrive on urgency.
Giving people 3–5 days is usually the "sweet spot."
Any longer, and the momentum dies out; any shorter, and you miss people who don't check social media daily.
Step 5: Engagement During the Contest
Don't just post and ghost.
"Like" the funniest entries as they come in and reply to a few of them.
This encourages others to join in because they see the brand is actively watching.
You Can Build Your Contest With Blitz Rocket
If you want to host a more complex caption contest in 15 minutes where you can gamify it, make it viral, fill your email list, check Blitz Rocket out.
You simply create an account, create a new campaign, and use the dashboard to design your contents landing page:
Once you design your landing page, click on the “Thank You” page at the top:
Here, you can add a bonus action to your campaign:
In the Bonus Actions screen, you can find a list of all social platforms where you’ve posted your caption content.
For example, if you posted on Instagram, just hover over the button and click Comment on post:
You can add your post here and add commenting as a bonus action. Repeat for every platform.
This way, you’ll incentivize comments on your posts as every bonus action provides an extra chance to win the giveaway. Smooth, right?
Caption this
Most people think caption contests are just play for laughs and a little awareness.
Little do they know that running a successful caption contest is a strategic way to bridge the gap between your brand and your community.
By leveraging creative imagery and a seamless entry process, you turn passive scrollers into active participants.
Ready to see those comments roll in? Use these examples as your creative spark, follow our roadmap for success, and let Blitz Rocket handle the heavy lifting of gamifying your reach.
Your audience has the wit; you just need to give them the stage!